A lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court against the City of El Paso by the family of a bodybuilder who was handcuffed when he was shot and killed by an El Paso police officer during a struggle outside the Downtown jail last year.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court a week after the release of jail security camera video showing when Daniel Saenz, 37, was shot and killed by Officer Jose Flores on March 8, 2013.

The lawsuit accuses the city and its officers of excessive force, recklessness, negligence and violating Saenz's civil rights. The lawsuit does not specify an amount sought.

"Video recordings show that the police officers were not threatened in any way to justify the use of deadly force on a handcuffed man in their custody," the Scherr Legate law firm representing Saenz's family said in a statement.

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"Numerous law enforcement personnel were available at the jail to restrain Daniel without the use of deadly force."

The video shows Saenz handcuffed behind the back while dragged in a sitting position by Flores and an unnamed civilian prisoner transport guard.
Police officials had said that the jail had refused to take Saenz because he had a cut to his head after he allegedly banged his head into a doorway when he was being walked into the jail.

Saenz, who was arrested on assault charges, was being taken to a hospital when a struggle began.

The video shows Flores pull out his handgun and shoot Saenz, who was on the ground.

Jim Jopling, a lawyer with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) representing Flores, had said the Saenz earlier in the day had been resistant to Taser shocks and that the handgun was fired by Flores when he was bumped by the guard who was pushed off by Saenz.

The video was released after the Texas Attorney General's Office ordered the city to comply with an open-records request made by the El Paso Times in February after a grand jury declined to indict Flores. Last year, a request by the newspaper for the video was denied by the attorney general's office because the criminal investigation had not been completed at that time.

"Instead of addressing the police misconduct and use of excessive deadly force, the City of El Paso tried to conceal video recordings for over a year in order to hide the truth of what happened," the Scherr Legate firm said. "The acts committed by the El Paso Police Department call to mind the Rodney King police brutality episode, except that Daniel was in a jail, in need of medical attention, and completely vulnerable with his hands cuffed behind his back, when he was needlessly shot and killed."

King was a black motorist in a videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers, whose acquittals sparked riots in 1992.

The lawsuit, filed by lawyers Oscar Mendez and Sam Legate, stated that El Paso police first encountered Saenz when he was acting paranoid and found slouched on motorized cart in an Albertsons supermarket. Saenz had hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), the lawsuit stated.

The American Diabetes Association reports that hypoglycemia symptoms include anxiety, rapid heartbeat, delirium, fatigue and anger, stubbornness and sadness.

The lawsuit argues Saenz was then wrongfully arrested, handcuffed and shocked with a Taser instead of being provided proper medical care.

The lawsuit by Saenz's mother Roswitha M. Saenz lists as defendants the city of El Paso, Police Chief Greg Allen, Flores, the unnamed guard and G4S Secure Solutions, a company contracted by the city last year for police prisoner transport services. City and G4S officials could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

Flores, who is on paid leave, faces a police administrative investigation to determine whether he followed department policy.

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